WorldviewU - Atheism & Secular Humanism Overview


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	Atheism & Secular Humanism Worldview category: atheism Definitions - Key Facts - Primary Beliefs - Well Known Adherents - Major Texts - Well Known Works - Organizations Definitions Atheism – The belief that neither God nor gods exist. Atheism holds to the belief that the physical world is all that exists. Atheism denies the existence of the supernatural world. Since God does not exist, man is in control of his own destiny and creates his own meaning in life. Observation, experience, logic, and reason are the foundations of knowledge and understanding. Secular humanism - "The belief that humanity is the highest of all beings and truth and knowledge rest in science and human reason."¹ "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity."² Key Facts Founder: Atheism has no founder. Governing body: There is no central governing body or spokesperson. Sacred texts: Atheism has no sacred texts. Primary Beliefs Theology (view of God): Atheistic – God does not exist. Atheistic arguments against the existence of God: There is not sufficient evidence to suggest that supernatural beings exist. The presence of pain and suffering in the world prove that God does not exist, because an all-loving and all powerful God would not allow pain and suffering. Philosophy (view of reality): Naturalism [or Materialism] – "…reality is comprised solely of matter and that all phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes e.g., law of gravity."³ The spiritual world and spiritual beings do not exist. View of man: Man is at the top of the evolutionary scale. We are in control of our own destiny. View of knowledge: Man has the ability to know everything. Reason, logic and science are the cornerstones of knowledge. View of creation: Big Bang Theory. View of biology: Evolution and natural selection are the processes that govern all life forms on Earth. According to this worldview, the tenets of biology are: Life arose spontaneously from non-living matter by natural, random processes (spontaneous generation). Natural selection is the mechanism that naturally and randomly allows to live and reproduce only those life forms best suited to survive. Life forms best equipped to survive will win the struggle for existence. Mutations among species occurring over millions of years support natural selection. Adaptation explains why different species develop specialized abilities that allow them to survive in their particular environmental niches. The fossil record provides an accurate account of the transmutation of species – macroevolution. Macroevolution is the development of a species into a different species. Ethics: Relativistic (there is no absolute truth); morals change to fit the needs of society. View of the afterlife: Man is mortal, not immortal. There is no afterlife. Death is oblivion. View of the mind: Humans have no soul. The mind consists of electrical impulses. View of law: Positive law (not absolute law) View of society: Roles and standards should change as our understanding and attitudes change. Well Known Adherents Isaac Asimov Richard Dawkins John Dewey Stephen Jay Gould Sam Harris Paul Kurtz Madelyn Murray O’Hare Charles Francis Potter Bertrand Russell Carl Sagan Major Texts Humanist Manifesto I (1933) – written by Roy Wood Sellars Humanist Manifesto II (1973) Secular Humanist Declaration (1980) (written by Paul Kurtz) Humanist Manifesto 2000: A Call for a New Planetary Humanism (drafted by Paul Kurtz) Well Known Works On The Origin of Species. Charles Darwin, 1959 Why I am not a Christian. Bertrand Russell, 1927 The Blind Watchmaker. Richard Dawkins The God Delusion. Richard Dawkins, 2006 The End of Faith. Sam Harris, 2004 Letter to a Christian Nation. Sam Harris, 2006 Organizations American Atheists Association Secular Humanist ¹David Noebel, Understanding the Times, Summit Press, 2006, 60. ²Humanist Manifesto III, American Humanist Association. ³David Noebel, Understanding the Times, Summit Press, 2006, 101.
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